Truss-pad.



A- SPEIRS.

ss PAD.

APPLIOATION FILED 0. 7, 1908. RENEWED AUG.12, 1912. I 1,056,227,Patented Mar. 18, 1913.

gt/gala? 571 M 674N661:

ALEXANDER SPEIRS, OF TESTER-00K, IVIAINE.

TBUSS-PAD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 18, 1913.

Application filed December 17, 1908, Serial No. 467,957. Renewed August12, 1912. Serial No. 714,708.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER SPnIRs, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of 'Westbrook, county of Cumberland, State ofMaine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Truss-Pads,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to truss pads such as are used for the treatment ofhernia. Such pads have heretofore been commonly made of wood or otherrigid material in which case they do not conform to the parts againstwhich they bear. They have also been made of rubber or other resilientmaterial in which case the pad springs back to its original form whenremoved and at each application it must be accurately located. Pads havealso been made of mate rial which is plastic at a temperature above thatof the body so that they can be heated and fitted in place and thenallowed to harden. Neither of these forms of pad are entirelysatisfactory particularly for a device which is to be put on the market,kept in stock and fitted by the wearer and the object of my invention isto make a truss pad which may be cheaply made, which may be put on themarket and sold generally and carried in stock and which will have theright amount of resiliency to conform itself to the body, preferablybeing so compounded as to have the quality of gradually hardening sothat it finally becomes rigid and accurately and permanently shaped tothe body.

With the above objects in view my invention consists of a pad the bodyportion of which is composed of a gelatinous material preferably ofprinters roll composition which may be made with any desired amount ofresiliency and pliability but which will slowly harden when applied tothe body until it becomes substantially rigid. A composition which Ihave found well adapted to the purpose is composed of glue 14 lbs.,glycerin 16 to 24: lbs., according to the resiliency required, sugar 3lbs., Venice turpentine 11; lb. This composition is heated and moldedinto suitable shape according to the form of pad desired and it becomessomewhat stiff and self-supporting but resilient enough to conformeasily to the body. It may be covered with silk, leather or any othersuitable fabric and supported on a suitable rigid plate in any wellknown manner. Such a pad is easily applied, it readily conforms to thebody and gradually hardens when in use so as to fit perfectly in itsplace without any careful adjustment. It also remains pliable for anindefinite length of time when kept in a suitable place. This pad may becheaply made, sold generally on the market and kept in stock for an indefinite length of time without losing its resiliency or pliabilitv andit possesses all of the necessary qualities of a perfect pad. it mayalso be kept in a pliable state for an indefinite length of time evenwhen in use if covered with a non-porous covering such as sheet rubber.A further advantage of this pad is that when the outer covering is wornout or soiled, it may be easily recovered since the body of the pad isself-supporting and does not depend for support upon the covering as inwater pads and others of similar nature.

I illustrate my invention by means of the accompanying drawing in which-Figure l is a section on the line of Fig. 2 and Fig. 2 is a rear View.

(Z represents the molded body of the pad which may be of any desiredform, 0 is the covering, a and b are the supporting plates and c is thefastening device which may be of any well known construction accordingto the position of the pad and the truss to which it is to be applied.

I have specified a gelatinous composition which has the qualitiesnecessary to form my pad but it will be understood that many othergelatinous compositions of this general character may be made which willcome within the terms of my invention and which may remain flexible andresilient for an indefinite time or it may have the quality of graduallyhardening as above specified. In either event the gelatinous body hasall the Q ewes? necessary qualities of a truss pad and is 6X- ceeclinglycheap in construction durable and resilient 1 claim:

1. The herein described truss pad having a body portion composed ofprinters roll composition.

2-. In a truss pad, a body part comprising the following ingredients insubstantially the proportions stated: ll parts glue '10 16 to 24 partsglycerin, 3 parts sugar, and

part turpentine. In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 1stclay of December, 1908.

AL XANDER SPElRS. Witnesses S. W. Bn'rns, E. "W. DENNIS.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner 01" Z'Pauents. Washington, D. C.

